1. Field
One embodiment of the present invention relates to a visual communication system equipped with an emergency call function and a main apparatus for the system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a telephone system, so-called a Voice over IP (VoIP), not only in a form using a line exchange network but also in a form has become used widely. Recently, a telephone system which may communicate not only voice but also images, including still images and moving images, has become widely used. Such a kind of system is also referred to as a visual communication system.
The telephone system has an emergency call function. This function includes the Japanese emergency police telephone number 110, the Japanese emergency fire station telephone number 119, the U.S.A. emergency telephone number 911, etc. That is, the function immediately connects a telephone call to a specialty organization or a management center by making a call through a special telephone number. There is a need for a manager to be stationed at a connection destination, and it is needed for the manager who has responded through the called terminal (emergency call terminal) to immediately know the situation of the caller.
In the existing telephone system, the manager may only monitor the situation in which the caller is located. However, since an accurate situation is hard to be known only through voice, any improvement has been desired. If the response itself from the manager has not been made, nothing can be done for the situation. Especially, immediate measures against the following environment have been desired.
For instance, it is assumed that a hospital patient who is in bad physical condition and loses consciousness in the middle of intending to make a nurse call. In such a case, since the manager cannot grasp the situation of the patient at all, although emergency measures are required, appropriate correspondence may not be done. A function of regarding an emergency call if the caller side telephone set being in a off-hooked state and ringing the alarm whistle from the emergency call terminal has been known; however in the foregoing case, since the patient loses consciousness, the manager may not grasp the situation only from its voice.
A related technique is disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2006-74772. This patent document discloses a technique which photographs an image of a caller to transfer the image to an incoming call side terminal and displays the image on the incoming call side terminal when a ringing signal is generated in coupling a call between the incoming call side terminal and an outgoing call side terminal. However, even such a technique does not always effectively correspond in an emergency. Because the caller may be located in a situation in which the caller cannot generate even the ringing signal.
As mentioned above, as regards the above mentioned existing telephone system, there is still room for improvement in an emergency call function, and some measures are required.